Hope: a brief intro…

I know exactly what it’s like to be sick–really sick–for a really long time. I’d struggled with symptoms of illness ever since I was a kid, which became progressively severe as I grew older.By 22 I was officially disabled, or as I called it “medically retired.”A few years later I was completely bed bound and wasting away from a “mystery illness.” It would take another 5 years before I was finally correctly diagnosed as having End Stage Lyme disease.

So you name a symptom, I’ve probably experienced it. I used to collect conditions with the same prowess as a Pokemon Master. In my mid-20’s I was literally dying. Today I’m in full remission from Lyme disease and all of its “confections.” I’m living the life I’ve always wanted, and always deserved: one free from chronic illness and pain.

Understandably, the number one question I get asked is, “How did you heal?” And while I usually list off various changes to diet and lifestyle, plus the different holistic treatments and protocols I used, the very first thing that set me on the path of radical healing was HOPE.See, for yeeeeears I’d been told by all kinds of doctors that my lengthy list of debilitating symptoms and conditions were “incurable,” “lifelong,” “progressive” and mostly in my head.

According to plenty of Docs, that was just my lot in life and all I could do was:

Take a bunch of prescriptions everyday for the rest of my life without any hope of actual healing.

See a shrink (and get even more prescriptions.)

Find a support group, cuz living indefinitely with chronic pain and illness was sure to suck.

Woah, talk about bleak! Now, I’m all for medication if it works. But it wasn’t working for me; I kept getting sicker. Things were getting scary. I came to the realization that if medication was my only option, then the Drs were right: my situation hopeless.

Desperate, I looked into what I could do to support my health with diet and lifestyle changes. I started connecting with others in the Lyme, autoimmune and chronic illness communities who were using a holistic approach, and I saw that they were not only healing but THRIVING. And I figured if they could do, so could I.Next, I found a Dr who was able to correctly diagnose me, and supported me in using a holistic approach to healingthat included things like nutrition, stress management, detox and emotional healing.

That was several years ago and guess what? The holistic approach worked for me. Turns out the folks who told me I couldn’t heal were way WRONG (wrong about my prognosis and wrong to doubt me!) I healed.

The very first step in healing from chronic illness is realizing its possible–and not just for others–but for you. This is why we NEED hope. Especially when we’ve been told and/or lead to believe that our situation is hopeless.

Cuz trust me, it’s not. Far from it. No matter how sick you are, or how long you’ve been sick I truly believe healing is possible.

My healing began with that glimmer of hope. Now it’s my turn to share that hope with you. For a hearty dose of hope check out my Hope Quotes series, and read about what my life’s like now that I’m in remission:

For more info on my holistic healing, and how you can support your own, head HERE. Diet played a HUGE role in my healing, which you can learn more about HERE. For anti-inflammatory, allergen-free recipes to fuel your own wellness click HERE.Have you experienced healing from chronic illness with the help of diet, lifestyle and natural medicine? If so I’d love to share your story of hope and healing here on the blog. We all need hope and your story matters! Email me (at) Kat@hopehealcook.com for more info on contributing a Hope Heal Stories guest post.

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